10 things you need to know about diabetes now
Dr. Jeffrey Powell, M.D., Chief, Division of Endocrinology at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, reassures potential diabetes sufferers that advances in available medications and new treatments in the pipeline augur better times ahead. The latest basic research also promises more effective management of diabetes' scourge on health.
1.We’re getting closer to an artificial pancreas. The organ controlling blood sugar levels in our bodies has been successfully mimicked with computerized insulin pumps and sensors, according to a recent European study. Twelve-week trials on adults, and also children and adolescents, conducted in Austria, Germany, and Great Britain, demonstrated improved glucose control in real-world settings.
2.A sip in time helps a diabetic's heart with wine. A new study from Israel shows that one 5-ounce glass of wine (red mostly, but also white) with dinner for non-drinkers with diabetes can improve several markers for heart and metabolism health. The researchers admit that the risk/benefit balance level of wine for patients with diabetes is "controversial."
3. The vaccine to reverse type 1 diabetes is in clinical trials. A vaccine used safely to prevent tuberculosis for nearly a century is being tested in patients with type 1 diabetes and some production of insulin. This vaccine may eliminate immunity-supportive blood cells that also destroy the pancreas' insulin-producing cells, according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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4. Diet, exercise prove superior to medication in type 2 prevention. Studies conducted in the US and abroad show that changing patients' lifestyle is more effective than prescription drugs in averting development of type 2 diabetes. A recent review of 53 trials found that despite wide variability in programs, a modest -2.2% weight loss was consistently more successful than pharmaceutical interventions.
5. Glucose-lowering drug found to improve patient life-spans. A study from the Yale Diabetes Center in New Haven demonstrates for the first time that a glucose-lowering medication (empagliflozin), prescribed for cases of type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular disease, can lower patient death rates. Not just cardiovascular deaths but all causes, by about a third. Researchers are not sure why.
6. Couldn't we just snooze away obesity and diabetes risks? An authoritative review of current research by endocrinologists in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK finds that short sleep duration and sleep disturbances are associated with greater occurrence of type 2 diabetes in patients. They call on clinicians to focus more attention to treating sleep problems as a deterrent for metabolic disorders.
7. They're testing meds to regenerate insulin-producing pancreas cells. The combination of two common generic drugs, antibiotic cyclosporine and anti-reflux proton-pump inhibitor omeprazole, may overcome our bodies' auto-immune response, a cause of type 1 diabetes. Clinical trials begin soon in Italy for a study assessing long-term effects on humans of this mixed drug therapy found promising in lab animals.
8. Better-controlled diabetes reigns in the odds of fatal dementia. A study of over 350,000 individuals in Sweden provides an extra incentive to consistently regulate blood sugar levels for diabetic patients, at risk of dementia. Greater mortality rates of up to 50% within 10 years for those diagnosed with some form of dementia were co-related with poor glycemic control.
9. New medications may protect kidney function in people with diabetes. A researcher at the University of Chicago recently published data in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing improved renal chemical markers in patients taking the non-steroidal drug finerenone over a placebo. With kidney failure a common result of diabetes, upcoming long-term trial of such meds looks promising.
10. Your diet can overcome genetic risks for diabetes. New findings from a research team at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx demonstrate how an insulin-resistant genetic trait can be offset by eating a high-protein diet. The apt-named POUNDS Lost study shows that personalized medicine could interact with a person’s set of genes to reduce risk of developing diabetes.